The Athena Operation (12 page)

CHAPTER 21: VEXATION

Drever woke to a somewhat reassuring scene. Not only had everyone survived impact, but Dr. Vinnor was alive, albeit with a broken nose. He had taken to fixing people up as he wandered around the ship, babbling incoherently.

Ret, now outfitted with bandages on his leg, was standing guard. He did his best to walk the perimeter, but he found himself in constant agony. Vinnor put it to him bluntly: he was the one in the best shape, meaning guard was his duty.

Seraph was still in the worst condition out of the crew. The wound on his neck refused to close, and his mutilated hand was risking infection.

Vinnor had set Kyla’s arm against her wishes. She still didn’t trust the bastard. Hell, she was still entertaining the idea of shooting him. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that he was the only one who could keep Seraph alive.

Sadhis had been the last one to wake. His gunshot wounds had been minor, and fesar were the fastest-healing species. After Vinnor cleared him, he set off into the field behind where the ship crashed and set to gathering special plants for a weak anesthetic.

Sadhis contemplated the mission as he worked. He knew they needed to press on, but a full-on frontal assault was going to get them all killed. If they were lucky enough to lay low for a while until they could figure out a plan, they may be able to pull off a stealth approach into Trini 5010. Even then, and even with Vinnor’s aid, they would probably die. But going in guns blazing was suicide. They might as well turn their guns on themselves right now to spare themselves the false hope.

Of course, Drever would likely suggest the alternative once again: run, and survive. Sadhis didn’t want to entertain this idea, but he had to consider the fact that he may have no functional crew left. There was no order, no plan. He didn’t know if he could scrape together the morale the crew needed.

Maxen, for one, was even more amped for a raid of Trini 5010. His injuries drove him further, and his hatred had never burned brighter. He was ready to exact his vengeance and burn Trini 5010 to ashes.

Vinnor would be fine if he never saw another seythra in his life. The thought of giving up didn’t faze him. But now he was caught up in the action, and the decision was not his to make. Following the crew was his only chance for protection now.

Originally, he’d planned on killing the entire crew one by one. That bitch Kyla was certainly going to be first. Hell, he could’ve set her arm wrong and killed her slowly, painfully. But he refrained. This group, even the sorry bunch that they are, would eventually come to appreciate him. He’d see to it himself.

As the day went on, the crew grew more and more hopeless. The thick humidity only intensified as time dragged on. On Jhalin, days lasted a full forty hours. The harsh blue aura the twin suns cast onto the planet was going to last a while.

Drever couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He knew they were out there. The Numinous. The only othal insane enough to stay behind on this hellhole of a planet.

“You look worried,” Ret said.

“You know anything about The Numinous?” Drever asked.

“Just from school. They’re religious, I know-”

“They’re fucking sick. They believe that anyone in their little group is special, that they can contact the ‘spirits’ from the other side. It’s all bullshit.”

Ret looked confused. “What does it matter, anyway?”

Drever stared at him. “They’re here. And they’re fucking close. I . . . I used to be one. A long fuckin’ time ago. They’re not far from what I remember. Small planet. I used to run hunting trips through here, lot of native Flukan and some fish in that river.” Drever nodded at the stream a few feet behind him. “Anyway, we should be on high fucking alert. Between them, the wildlife, the seythra, we couldn’t have landed in a worse spot.”

“Why are the Numinous a threat?” Ret asked. “From what I’ve heard, they’re hermits.”

Drever shook his head. “I ain’t getting into it. Just trust me, kid. They’re sick, vile, they will rob you of everything you have, even when you have fucking nothing. Men, children, aliens, don’t fuckin’ matter. You’re with ‘em, or against ‘em.”

“Did you-”

“I’m not going to talk about it,” Drever said sharply.

Drever closed his eyes. He felt groggy. He refused to let Vinnor examine him, but he could more or less self-diagnose a concussion. His entire body stung from gunshot wounds and his exhaustion was crippling. He didn’t know why he even bothered to go forward. He still believed the mission was futile. But something was pushing him to go on, and he was too tired to question it.

Drever turned back to Ret. “This group is going to fall apart, you know. Half of them aren’t going to be willing to step back up after what they’ve been through. Your fucking commander is inches from death. They’re not going to back you or the fesar and just march the fuck into Trini 5010.”

“What, then?” Ret yelled. “We stay here? Run? Hide on another planet? How the hell can we do that? Are you that willing to throw your guns down and walk away? After seeing Vidron? How can you see entire planets destroyed and say you want to fucking run?”

Drever stood and moved right up to Ret’s face. His hands balled into fists. “How the fuck can you say I still want to run? I put my goddamn life on the line for you, for them, for every-fucking-one back there over and over! I’m not running! This isn’t a game of honor. Stop playing soldier! I’m trying to keep everyone alive! You would all be fucking dead without me, and if you don’t listen to me now, you are all going to fucking die!”

Drever turned and began walking away from Ret. He took a few steps before exhaustion overcame him. He stumbled and crashed to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

CHAPTER 22: SILLAGE

Aven stared out into the void. The silence that filled the room was overwhelming. It seemed like everywhere he went, he couldn’t remain. Uncertainty nipped at his mind.

Being alone, inside his head, was making things worse.

Every little fact, every variable, every second was crushing him. Was there enough time? Would phase one succeed? Would his people step up?

“Aven.”

Aven’s eyes flickered over to his partner. “Zane. What is it?”

“The Baryon was attacked and . . . destroyed.” Zane’s voice shook. “We managed to kill one of the attackers, but the rest escaped. The Baryon’s in flames.”

“What?!” Aven whipped around to face Zane. “What the fuck are you talking about?!”

Zane tried to clear his throat. “The Baryon.”

Aven grunted and shoved Zane aside. He headed for the door, his footsteps echoing into the chamber.

“Aven!” Zane shouted. “Don’t do something stupid! We’re still in control!”

Aven paid no attention. He walked down the hallway toward the ship’s control panel.

**

With both Seraph and Drever down for the count, the group’s resolve crumbled. Maxen refused to do anything to aid anyone. Kyla, while willing, was too injured to do much of anything. Vinnor cared even less than he had before, and had abandoned the camp.

Ret and Sadhis, while on the same page, had very different ideas on how to move forward. Over the next couple of days, they managed to gather food, find a water supply, and fortify the perimeter of the ship with makeshift traps.

On the third day, Sadhis and Ret knew they had to have a discussion about moving forward. They’d avoided it far too long.

As night fell, they sat down to forge a plan.

“So. What are we going to do?” Ret tended the wound on his leg, avoiding eye contact with Sadhis.

Sadhis sighed. “I wish I knew. This group is breaking. We’re all wounded, tired, and we couldn’t defend ourselves if the seythra hit us right now. It’s going to take time.”

“We can’t afford to take a rest period,” Ret said. “We managed to hit them hard taking out the Baryon. We really need to capitalize on that. If we hit Trini 5010 right now, while we’ve already weakened them, it’s our best chance of ending this once and for all. You know that.”

“I know. Believe me, I do. But look at these people. Even if we could convince them to attack right now, we’d be slaughtered alive. Even if Trini 5010 was hurting, we’d still be ripped apart. We’re tired, we’re hurt, and half of us are looking out for number one right now.”

Ret was exhausted from the discussion already. He knew that Drever and Sadhis were looking at this from the most realistic point of view, but he felt like he was the only one with any faith left.

“Do you really think that, when Seraph wakes up, he’s going to be ready to go?” Sadhis asked. “Do you think he’s even going to want to continue?”

Ret shrugged. “You’ve known him longer than me. But he’s a hell of a soldier. He doesn’t give up. That shit on Danae Pilus, it was just getting to him. We all handle that differently, doesn’t matter to me. He’s shown me what kind of man he is, and I’d follow him into battle anywhere. He’s not going to give up.”

Sadhis fell silent. He hesitated, then nodded. “You’re right. And I agree, he is a hell of a soldier. I’ve worked with him many times. But . . .” Sadhis paused again, looking for the best way to word his thoughts. “I’ve never seen him pushed this far. He’s severely wounded. If he wakes up, he’s going to be a different man.”

“He’s going to wake up.”

“I hope so. But he’s lost a lot of blood. Those wounds could be fatal”

“You’ll see.” Ret propped himself up. “I’m more worried about Maxen. He doesn’t seem all there anymore. I don’t think we can trust him.”

“Maxen is a wild card. We can’t trust him, but he’s proven himself useful at least. Until he makes a move, we’re better letting him be.” Sadhis yawned.

“And Drever?” Ret asked. “Do you trust him? I can’t get past the fact that he’s a mercenary. He’s not loyal. Hell, when we disagreed earlier, he looked like he could go off and kill me at any second. He’s a bigger wild card than Maxen if you ask me. He’s fucking crazy, and not in a good way. He’s always fighting group decisions. He’s just fucking nuts.”

Sadhis shook his head. “I trust Drever. He may be volatile and dangerous, but he’s stuck with us, even against his own judgment. He’s too involved now to back out. You can’t fault him for being angry; it’s who he is and how he deals with everything. He’s extremely skilled, and he knows how to survive. He is one of our most valuable assets. He acts like he opposes our direction, but he hasn’t let us down yet.”

“I don’t-”

Ret was interrupted by the sound of scraping metal. He and Sadhis jumped up and raised their guns in the direction of the sound. Someone had tripped one of the traps. Sadhis turned his flashlight on and fell to a knee as he tried to locate the source.

There were footsteps coming toward them. Both Sadhis and Ret were a moment from firing when they saw Maxen enter the area. He was holding two large carcasses.

“Easy, guys. I got us some food.”

Sadhis and Ret exchanged glances. Maybe they’d been wrong about him.

Ret followed Maxen to the far side of the ship where Maxen laid out his prized killings.

“Is that where you were this whole time?” Ret asked. “Hunting?”

Ret felt something was off. Maxen’s wounds had re-opened and fresh blood had seeped through his shirt.

Maxen shrugged. “Hunting. Scouting. Making sure no seythra are sneaking up on us while we sleep. Kyla’s doing a piss-poor fucking job at perimeter watch. She went over the same area about ten times. Why the fuck did you let her go? You’re in better shape than her.”

“I tried, she said she’d rather do it,” Ret said.

Maxen chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, there’s a good way to get killed. I’d go get her if I was you. I did a sweep about an hour ago, but things can change.”

Ret nodded. He felt embarrassed that Kyla was doing a job that should be his. He patted Maxen on the back. “Hey, thanks for hunting.”

Maxen looked up and nodded back. “Someone had to do it.”

**

Ret slipped away into the jungle that evening, after taking the perimeter watch over from Kyla.

He was holding a radio that had been taped back together after being damaged in the attack.

It came alive with a low hum and a light. He flipped the frequency to the military standard M-676. No broadcast. He pressed the ‘broadcast’ button.

“Lylo . . . Tameron . . . if you’re there, it’s Ret. The attack on the Baryon was a . . . success.” Ret paused, closing his eyes. “Diam’s dead. Seraph is really fucked up. Drever's out cold. Things are bad. If you guys are out there, this one may be up to you. I’m doing all I can here. Sadhis, me and him, we’re trying to push through, we really are. We’re out in Jhalin, barely surviving. The ship’s fucked up and we haven’t even been able to start fixing it. But the Baryon went down. Ret out.”

Ret took a deep breath and headed back to camp.

**

“Hey.”

Ret hadn’t even heard Kyla come up on him. She faked a smile as she sat down next to him, glancing out across the swampy river and into the jungle. Wildlife dotted the scene sporadically, humidity draining even them of their will.

Ret sighed. “Things are a fuckin’ mess. We’re worse off than I ever thought we’d be.” The situation had been weighing on Ret's mind, tearing away at his optimism.

“Ret, listen,” Kyla exhaled. “I think we might need to consider cutting our losses. We can't continue.”

Despite Ret's mindset, the words still came as a shock to him. “No, we can't,” Ret said firmly. “You didn't see Vidron, Kyla. The pain, the suffering. For all we know we're the only ones fighting back. They need us.”

“Your bravery's admirable, kid.” Kyla met his eyes with her own. “But we're just going to get killed. We need to consider our own survival. What good are we to anyone dead?”

Ret went to combat Kyla’s stance, but a loud groan from behind stole their attention. They were equally shocked when they saw a severely injured Seraph stumbling towards them.

Ret couldn’t believe it.

“Thank God! I thought you were dead!” Ret shouted. He smiled. He ran to Seraph, embracing him in a hug. Seraph managed to reciprocate.

Kyla watched with a small grin on her face.

“Kyla, can you help me set him down?”

Kyla obliged, moving Seraph down into an upright position. He was clearly dehydrated and starving, but alive. Ret fetched some of the remaining rations and water, and Seraph managed to eat and drink.

Sadhis came into camp holding a dead pair of wildlife, and his eyes widened when he saw Seraph. A smile crept over his face, and he nodded to his comrade.

Maxen followed, though showing no surprise on his face. He grunted at Seraph, and continued through the camp.

“Glad to see you pulling through.” Sadhis nodded.

“He’s a tough son of a bitch,” Ret added.

Though Seraph could only dazedly glance at his fellow soldiers and grunt a bit, he felt reassured by their presence.

Seraph noticed Drever’s body next to him. He could only wonder what had happened to the othal.

“Didn’t I tell you all that he was alive? I told you! I told them, Seraph, you wouldn’t give up that easily.” Ret laughed a bit.

**

Kyla left Ret alone with Seraph. She was genuinely surprised at how quick of a turnaround Ret had after seeing Seraph alive. But it was refreshing and motivating.

She headed back down to the river, through the dense foliage. She brushed leaves and branches out of her face with her good arm, and soon caught view of Maxen. He was knelt down, holding a letter with a picture attached to it.

As she moved up on him, he heard her and spun around.

Once he saw who it was, he scowled.

“Good way to get yourself killed, sneaking up on me.”

“Sorry, didn't know you were out here.” Kyla noticed the picture attached to the letter, it was of a fesar woman and a child. “Who are they?”

Maxen folded the letter and shook his head. “Doesn't matter. You should find somewhere else to go, Kyla.”

“I used to profile aliens. Get into their heads. It was my job. I'm not bad with humans, either. I know what you were doing on the Baryon. You were trying to kill as many seythra as possible, go to the heart of the ship, find some of their higher-ranking officers.” Kyla moved closer to Maxen.

Maxen raised a hand. “I don't give a shit what you used to do. You don't know me. Don't pretend like you fucking do.”

“I'm not trying to upset you, Maxen.” Kyla shook her head. “Some of the others don't trust you. After what you did on the Baryon, it's hard for me to trust you with my life. I'm just trying to put the pieces together. You want to kill the seythra more than any of us here. Why? Were they your family?” Kyla motioned towards the photo on the letter.

“I'm warning you-”

“Listen,” Kyla cut Maxen off. “You're one hell of a soldier. You've saved my ass and all of the crew's too. But you're erratic. Dangerous. Your family wouldn't want you throwing your life away, Maxen. They-”

“You didn't know them! You've got no idea what fucking happened to them!” Maxen screamed.

“You're right. Tell me. Tell me what happened, Maxen. You shouldn't have to endure this burden yourself.”

Maxen scoffed, rubbing the bullet wound on his leg. “Why the fuck do you care? Why do you want to know?”

Kyla came face-to-face with Maxen. “We've been through hell together, and no matter what we do as a group, we have to trust one another. Tell me, so I can give your irrational behavior some context to the others.”

“I don't give a fuck about the group.” Maxen spat onto the ground.

“You wouldn't be hunting if that was the case. You wouldn't be using our medical supplies if the group heard you say that. Let's cut the bullshit, Maxen.” Kyla's stared into Maxen's eyes.

Maxen exhaled and ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, they were my family. The seythra hit us, they destroyed my home, killed my wife, and my . . . son.” Maxen closed his eyes. “I watched it from the ground. They shot me over and over, but I survived. I couldn't save them. I tried. I just couldn't save them.” Maxen's eyes opened, and he shook his head. “I gave up everything for my family. They were my life. The seythra ripped them from me. I am going straight to Trini 5010, and I'm going to blow the fucking thing straight to hell.”

Kyla could feel the emotion pour from Maxen. “I'm sorry about your family, Maxen. But every one of us wants to see Trini burn. You need us, and we need you. We're going to be smart about it from here on out. We're going to destroy them.”

Maxen looked up to Kyla. “I won't stop until they're all dead.”